Escorts, DLF deny land sale talks

Mumbai: Tractor maker Escorts Ltd denied the sale of its land near Delhi to developer DLF Ltd, but an official said a consultant had been appointed to restructure the firm to unlock value.

“The report is speculative and we are not in talks with DLF," Nikhil Nanda, chief operating officer, said over telephone denying an Economic Times report that said DLF was negotiating to buy the land in Faridabad for about Rs1,500 crore.

He, however, said a consultant had been appointed to restructure the operations of the company, which also makes components and construction equipment. Nanda did not name the consultant.

“The plan is to unlock value across various verticals we are incubating and land is part of the study," he said. “It may take anywhere between 8-10 months to arrive at a decision."

DLF Ltd, India’s biggest property developer, too said it doesn’t plan to acquire land from Escorts.

The Economic Times reported earlier today that DLF was in talks to buy the land from Escorts for more than Rs1,500 crore, without saying where it got the information from.

Escorts, which operates five plants spread over 165 acres in Faridabad and another plant on a 40-acre plot in Uttarakhand, has in the past repeatedly denied land sale reports.

The company is looking to restructure to further cut debt. It sold its stake in a hospital, exited a joint venture and raised money through a qualified institutional placement to cut debt to under Rs500 crore from Rs1,100 crore two years ago.